As the UK government considers controversial proposals to introduce variable tuition fees in England, we look at university funding in five different countries and ask how it affects students studying there. Click on the links on the right to read about them.GERMANY: HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
Germany has almost two million students in higher education, the majority of whom do not pay any tuition fees.
 | Fifth year history and politics student Moritz Liebe, 24, says student costs are rising as funding is cut |
The system has come under huge strain since the mid 1990s, with universities overcrowded and facing funding cuts in many states. Student grants are available and are means tested - although students have to start paying back half of the grant on completion of their course.
The average course length is four years, but this can be extended and it is not unusual for students to take five or six years to complete their higher education.
A small number of private, fee-paying institutions have been set up in recent years and there is increasing pressure to reform the current system, which many see as unsustainable.MORITZ'S STORY
Moritz Liebe, 24, is in his fifth year studying history and politics at Dusseldorf University in North Rhine Westphalia, home to 24,000 students.
He comes from Munich, in Bavaria. His parents give him an allowance of about 550 euros (�379/$689) a month, so he does not have to depend on a state grant. He hopes to graduate later this year.
|  We are under-funded there is no question about it  |
"I could have completed last year but decided I was not ready to graduate and wanted to build up my contacts in my field before I start looking for work seriously. My parents are quite understanding about this. My father is a doctor so he knows that studying can take a long time," he said. He said money was not an issue in deciding which university he wanted to attend.
Moritz lives off the campus in an apartment shared with two other students. It costs 550 euros (�379/$689) a month between them, which he says is cheaper than living on campus:
"With the state making cuts in its budget, the cost of living for a student has risen quite significantly," he said.
"The system in under tremendous strain, especially as so many German students stay on for almost twice the length of time they do in Britain," he said.
"The cost of accommodation has gone up, it is hard to get hold of the right books, whole departments have been closed - for example the sport faculty does not exist any more. We are under-funded there is no question about it."
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